Elongate, fusiform, no fatty eyelid; jaw teeth slender, conical; top of tongue with 2 ridges; gill rakers 53-63; 2 dorsal fins barely separated; XIV-XVI spines on 1st dorsal, front spines relatively tall; 7-9 finlets after 2nd dorsal and anal fins; short, V shaped bony process between pelvic fins; 1 lateral line; 2 small + 1 large keels on tail base; well developed corselet of scales on front of body.
Dark purplish blue on back; lower sides and belly silvery, with 4-6 conspicuous wavy stripes or discontinuous lines of dark blotches.
Size: attains 120 cm; all-tackle world record 18.9 Kg.
Habitat: oceanic pelagic.
Depth: 0-260 m.
Circumglobal in seas warmer than about 15°C; southern California to the mouth of the Gulf of California to Chile and the oceanic islands.
